In manufacturing a semiconductor, various kinds of gases are allowed to flow through a path formed by combining a plurality of pipes, in a process of, for example, performing heat processing on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or the like.
In designing this process, data including details of a process, i.e., a so-called procedure (hereinafter, referred to as a “recipe”), is prepared. For example, a gas flow diagram for flowing the gases is designed according to the recipe including paths, flow rates, and types of the gases which may be used in the process associated with the recipe. This recipe is generally prepared in the form of a table.
Since the recipe prepared in the form of a table is hard to read, a technique of simulating a state of a path for flowing gas by linking a gas piping design drawing (a CAD drawing) with the recipe has been devised recently.
In the conventional technique, a pipe, which is a gas path, is displayed only by being classified with a color. In this case, although a path or range in which a gas flows may be known, it may be difficult to accurately determine a direction of a gas flow or a way (state) of joining or mixing different types of gases. Thus, there is a problem in that it is difficult to determine whether or not a recipe provides a correct state of a gas flow diagram.
In addition, it is desired to simulate in real-time a state of a process operating in a substrate processing apparatus such as an actual semiconductor processing apparatus, as well as a simple simulation of the recipe.